Chapter Text
Brief changed from his work uniform back to his usual clothes, breathing out a sigh of relief. His shift today at Pancake Guy had been one of the busiest he could remember, but at last he had time to relax...
That is if by ‘relaxing’ you understood spending time with a pair of bitch-angels that treated you like you were less than dirt and whose every whim had to be fulfilled.
But Brief couldn't complain about it when it meant that he wasn't alone all the time. At least, this way he had a front-row seat for ghost-hunting action and could spend time near his beloved Panty.
The boy walked out of the diner and took the street that led directly to the city's church. He had his signature headphones on, and was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the pair of angels approaching him until an arm wrapped around his shoulder, startling him and making him stumble forward.
“Yo, geek boy!”
“P-P-Polyurethane??? ” The angel grinned at him, showing their characteristic shark-like teeth. Before Brief could utter anything else though, someone nudged his other arm, and he turned to face the other angel brother. “P-Polyester?? What are you guys doing here?”
“We're like, not on the job right now, chill”. Polyester rolled his eyes and shrugged, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “‘Least we could do was say hi.”
“Say, Brief, aren't you off the clock now too?”, the younger angel chimed in, a slightly playful glint to his eyes. “Lowkey, I think we should spend the afternoon together.”
“You want to hang out… with me?” Brief was confused. The brothers had taken him, Garter and Chuck on a trip to Casino City, and had been super nice to them about it as well, but now they were willingly suggesting to spend more time together too?
Polyurethane let go of Brief, facing him with his arms folded behind his head. “No cap! Our last hangout was fire, obviously we have to repeat it.”
“For real! Besides,” Polyester glanced towards the Daten City church, their expression turning sour, “it definitely beats spending time with those mid, illiterate and annoying cousins of ours.”
Brief went quiet for a second, considering the angels’ offer. As strong as his crush on Panty was, having to cater to whatever the Anarchy sisters asked of him was an exhausting activity that felt more like servitude than friendship, not to mention that he had just finished his shift too… Surely those two wouldn't miss him for the afternoon, right?
“Sure!” he finally replied, smiling. Their road trip had been great, and the way Polyester and Polyurethane treated him felt… genuinely friendly, unlike the dynamic he had with Panty and Stocking. “It'd be nice to hang out with you again.”
“Sweet!” The brothers high-fived each other. “So, where do you wanna go?”
The question caught Brief unaware. He was so used to following whatever instructions people gave him that his brain took some time to fully process it. Not only had they offered to spend time with him, the two angels actually wanted his input on something? “Wha-? I- You want me to choose where to go?”
“Last time you were only going because of that priest, not because you vibed with the place”. Polyurethane answered matter-of-factly, bending forward at the waist slightly and holding one finger up in front of Brief’s face. “That means it's your turn to choose now.”
“Facts,” his brother agreed, being now the one to wrap his arm around Brief's shoulder, “surely there's someplace you lowkey wanna go to.”
“Well…” Brief replied slowly, both angels looking at him intently, “It has been a while since I last went to the arcade…”
—————
“So, this is the arcade, huh?”
Brief tugged at the drawstrings of his hoodie, suddenly nervous about the duo’s opinion on his place of choice. Did he really bring the self-proclaimed New Gen Angels to an arcade??? God, he really was the geek boy…
And the fact Polyester and Polyurethane were just looking around without uttering a word wasn't helping. He fixated his gaze to the ground, muttering. “Um, you don't have to stay if you don't want”. His voice was barely audible, and the strength of his grip on the drawstrings had increased. “I know i-”
“Y’know I lowkey kinda dig it.”
“Yeah! It's giving 80’s and 90’s but like, in the best way possible.”
Freezing mid-sentence, Brief looked back up to the angels. Really looked at them. The bright neon lights of the different machines in the arcade reflected on the brothers’ hair, making it glint with different colors like it had an epoxy finish. Their eyes appeared as if they were glowing thanks to the slightly dim lighting of the building, and both were smiling in a way that could only be described as angelic. They looked so ethereal, they looked so elegant, they looked so…
They looked so divine.
“Hey, you good Brief?”
“UH- RIGHT!” Polyester’s words immediatly snapped him back to reality, and Brief tilted his head forward in an attempt to mask his blushing face with his long bangs.
What the hell had just happened???
The angels briefly glanced at each other, a mischievous smile spreading in both of their faces. Surprisingly, however, they decided to keep their teasing for later.
“So like, what do you wanna try your luck at first?” Polyurethane asked, thankfully changing the topic.
Brief sighed internally and straightened up a little, praying that his face wasn't as red as he thought it was. “Well, I was thinking-”
The boy abruptly stopped talking, which earned a curious stare from the brothers.
“Of course! How could I forget?!” He beamed, lighting up almost literally as he remembered something. “The dance machines have to have been fixed by now! C’mon! ”
Just like that, Brief quickly walked, more like he ran, to where he knew the arcade’s dancing machines were, clearly filled with excitement. The brothers stifled a giggle and shared a look before following him. “He can be highkey adorable at times.”